Photo bt Andrea Canter

A few years younger than Wallace, brother Antoine Roney started out on clarinet before studying the alto and tenor saxophones with Jackie McLean at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. Working with McLean, Donald Byrd and Clifford Jordan early in his career, he has since performed or recorded with a long list of artists including sister-in-law Geri Allen, Cindy Blackman, Michael Brecker, Chick Corea, Al Foster, Elvin Jones, Houston Person, Claudio Roditi, Pharoah Sanders, Jacky Terrasson, Nasheet Waits, Peter Washington, Lenny White, andBuster Williams, in addition to the Wallace Roney project.

Bassist Charnett Moffett is the son of a jazz musician, Ornette Coleman’s drummer, Charles Moffett, Sr. A child prodigy, young Moffett played on stage with his father at age 8, and went on to music studies at Julliard. At 16, he was playing in Wynton Marsalis’ band, and through the 1980s worked with such artists as Tony Williams and Stanley Jordan. In the 1990s, he worked with Ornette Coleman, Geri Allen, Kenny Garrett, and Cyrus Chestnut. In addition to touring with McCoy Tyner and now Wallace Roney, Moffett has released a number of recordings, including his recent For the Love of Peace, featuring members of his musical family, brothers Codaryl and Mondre, sister Charisse, and wife Angela Moffett.

Twenty-seven-year-old drummer Eric Allen grew up in LA, playing in school marching bands. He’s been a compatriot of Wallace Roney for a number of years, appearing on several of the trumpeter’s recordings. Notes Roney, “He’s grown so much—not just his ability but his creativity, his openness.”

Photo bt Andrea Canter

Experimental electronic musician “DJ Val” Jeanty appeared on Wallace Roney’s No Room for Argument and returns on Mystikal and Roney’s current tour, providing spins on the turntables, spoken word interludes, and other little ‘ear cookies.’

Photo bt Andrea Canter

If you’re wondering where modern jazz is heading, be sure to check out the Wallace Roney Sextet and this incredible crew of innovative artists. As Roney himself observes, “Don’t be stuck in the past but retain the greatness of it. And live in the moment. Live in the future.”

See the Wallace Roney Sextet at the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village, March 7-12; www.villagevanguard.com.